


years later

by juliana_ravenclaw



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: AU where Walter didn't literally drive himself off a cliff, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, i'm not really sure what it ended up being, it started out Waige and turned into mostly just Ralph?, mild quintis if you squint, post 1x21, sorry about that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 13:45:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7174199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juliana_ravenclaw/pseuds/juliana_ravenclaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would have happened if Walter hadn't nearly gotten himself killed after 1x21 and Paige and Ralph had actually gone to Portland that weekend. </p>
<p>Based off the prompt "I am sorry but I have to do this" for the Scorpion fic exchange.</p>
            </blockquote>





	years later

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Scorpionnumber1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scorpionnumber1/gifts).



She could feel the animosity in the air the moment she walked into the garage. Happy was glaring at her, jaw set. Toby had his eyebrows raised, and Sylvester was looking at her with great caution, like she might blow up at any moment.

She supposed she should have seen this coming. She was no longer a part of the team, now merely an outsider, and one that posed a threat to the emotional wellbeing of a fellow team member, no less. They were only trying to protect Walter, and she couldn’t be angry at them for that.

“Hey…” she began awkwardly. The team didn’t respond. She cleared her throat. “I’m... uh, just here to talk. To Walter,” she said finally.

“He’s busy,” Happy replied curtly.

Paige swallowed. “It won’t take long.”

She was met with only stares yet again. It was Toby’s turn to break the silence. “Listen, Paige, this probably isn’t the best time right now. You should leave.”

Paige was taking her time, trying to consider her words before she said them, when they heard the Walter’s footsteps coming down the stairs. All eyes were on him as he looked around at his team, but he stopped short when his gaze landed on Paige, and suddenly she was all he could see.

“Paige…” Pain washed over him as he remembered all the things she had said to him that night. “What… what are you doing here?”

“I came to clear the air between us. I was hoping we could talk.” She glanced around. “Maybe… privately?”

Walter hesitated for only a moment. “Yeah, of course,” he said, leading her out of earshot of the rest of the team.

Paige could practically hear the gears turning in that brilliant mind of his. She faltered a little when he turned, staring intently at her with those brown eyes. “What is it?”

“Walter, listen, I just wanted to apologize for how I reacted the other night. You are… amazing, and incredibly brave for risking your life for other people all the time, I just don’t want Ralph to get hurt because he thinks that he has to be like you.”

“Of course,” Walter responded immediately. “Ralph’s safety is important to me, too.” He tried to conceal the glimmer of hope he knew was showing in his eyes. If she was apologising for how she reacted, maybe she would ask for her job back, ask for him to let her stay. He would say yes immediately, of course; her presence at Scorpion was extremely valuable, and she was incredibly efficient at her job.

“Right, yes,” Paige nodded. “So I really hope you’ll understand when I say I’ve decided to move up to Portland with Ralph… and Drew.”

Walter’s face fell and he struggled to find something to say. “But… you’d be taking Ralph away from us. Everything we’ve done… to teach him what we know, to let him reach the outer limits of his intelligence… did that mean nothing to you?”

“No!” Paige says hastily. “No, Walter, of course not. I am so, so grateful for everything you’ve done for us. Everything you’ve done for him. It’s just that – ”

“He needs to be around people like him. People like us!”

“And he will be!” Paige exclaims, then looks around, taking a deep breath and lowering her voice. “Look, we went to Portland on the weekend for a… trial of sorts, to get a feel of the place. Drew went and met his new boss, and Ralph and I,” Paige took a breath, “we went and had a tour of that school Drew recommended. You know, the one for gifted children.”

“Nothing they could offer there would even compare to what we did for him, you have to know that!”

“Maybe not!” Paige hissed. “Maybe not, Walter, but you should’ve seen his face. Every classroom we entered, he couldn’t get enough of the facilities and resources they had. And I saw him talking to some of the students there, Walter. Kids his age. They might not be as quite as smart as him, but he was connecting with them. We were there barely an hour, and he was already thriving.”

“He was thriving here!”

“And he’ll get to be with his dad, Walter! I can’t take him away from that, either.” She took another breath before continuing, “I’ve decided that this is the best option for Ralph. It’s not up to debate anymore.”

“So that’s it? You’re just going to leave? What about us? A – About the team? We need you! And Ralph!”

Happy, Toby and Sylvester were no doubt listening in by now, but Paige dared not look at them. She took a moment to strengthen her resolve. “I’m sorry, Walter. I really am. But I have to do this.”

Without another word, she rushed out of the building before anyone could stop her.

 

***

  
“Mom.”

Ralph was looking out the window of the plane, his expression blank, his hands fiddling with the Rubik’s Cube Sylvester had given him before they had left. “Yes, honey?” Paige replied absentmindedly.

“I messaged Walter last night on Skype.”

Paige looked at her son, concerned. “Did he reply?”

“Yeah.”

She was glad of that, at least. She had been worried that Walter might cut Ralph off as well. “That’s good.”

Ralph glanced at his mother, then quickly looked away. “Am I still allowed to talk to him?” he asked.

“Oh! Of course you are, sweetie. I think it would be good for you to stay in contact with him. Maybe someday we can go visit them again.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

The plane was starting to descend. Ralph passed the Rubik’s Cube to his mom to put in her handbag. She took it, then grabbed his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. She knew it was hard for him to leave the team, but he was going to be happy in Maine. He would have her, and his dad, and his new teachers and new friends at his new school. He would adjust, and it would work out, and most importantly, as Paige kept repeating to herself, he would be happy.

“You ready?” she asked, and Ralph knew she wasn’t just referring to the landing of the plane. He nodded.

  
***

He was surprised they all still worked here. He knew they would all stay together, of course, but he had considered it unlikely that the garage was still their base. He supposed he should be grateful for their aversion to change, though. It would have been significantly harder for him to find them otherwise. He turned the door handle and it creaked open enough for him to step inside.

Five years, and even the inside of the garage looked the same. The same green and yellow sign in the corner, flickering at regular intervals. The same dirty windows, the hints of colour on them barely visible now. The same used blackboard, with complicated mathematical algorithms scribbled all over it. And the same weathered red couch, sitting next to the Proton Arnold arcade game.

Ralph smiled faintly, remembering what fun he had had as Walter taught him his tips and tricks to getting the highest scores all those years ago. He was fairly sure he could still get a decent score on it, if he tried.

But then a familiar voice brought him back to the present.

“Ralph?”

It was Sylvester.

While the garage had been a safe haven where time seemed to come to a stop and nothing was any different to what it used to be, Ralph and his life had not been subjected to the same violation of conventional time laws. He had grown significantly taller, got himself a proper haircut, and grown some muscle on his once gangly body. He had even gotten glasses, a necessity brought on by his refusal to abide by curfew so that he could stay up and read in the dark. So it was a relief when Sylvester recognised him.

Of course, Sylvester would recognise him. His appearance had changed a little, but Sylvester remembered the way Ralph held himself, the way he walked, and the way he looked around a room so precisely before entering. He remembered the way he tilted his head slightly when considering what to say, the way he was right now.

He decided to go with a simple, “Hi, Sylvester.”

“Ralph!”

Ralph turned to see Toby, a brilliant smile on his face, which he tried to match. “Hey, Toby.”

“Hey, pal, good to see you again! Glad it only took you half a decade to get here!” Toby replied overenthusiastically.

“Toby,” Happy warned, giving him a look.

Toby glanced back at her, and the bitter expression dropped from his face. “Right, sarcasm. Sorry,” he said, turning back to Ralph. “It’s been a while. Nice to see you again.” He tipped his hat mockingly, trying to conceal his cheeky smile.

Ralph nodded at him, laughing a little, and felt a sense of déjà vu, remembering how normal this kind of conversation used to be. Toby being sarcastic, Happy telling him off, and Toby making everyone laugh. The only thing missing was Walter coming in to tell them to get on with their work. Speaking of which…

“I hope you have all been spending your time efficiently, because Agent James will be here any minute now – oh… Ralph.”

“Hey, Walter.”

Walter stuttered for a moment. “What… what are you doing here?” he asked finally.

“Mom and I were in town, so I thought I’d come visit.”

Walter looked around quickly, wondering if Paige had perhaps come in when he wasn’t looking. “Oh. Where is your mom, then?”

Ralph bit his lip. “Ah. She’s, uh, visiting Nemos at the diner. She wasn’t sure if you guys would want to see her.”

“Oh.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over them. Sylvester tried to continue making conversation. “So… uh, how’s your new school, Ralph?”

Ralph’s expression brightened immediately. “Oh, it’s great! I’m studying advanced engineering, and hopefully going to college next year. I mean, I could’ve gone a couple years ago, but I was enjoying my school and mom thought it would be better for me if I stayed with people my own age for a bit longer. My school’s really cool, though. The classes are a lot more tailored towards the students, and it’s way more interesting learning about more advanced stuff…”

The team watched on and Ralph talked animatedly about his new life in Portland, his new friends and teachers and subjects he was taking and all the wonderful things he was learning. It was bittersweet for the team. They were happy for him, of course, but the notion that they should have been the ones teaching him these things crossed everyone’s minds.

They filled him in on what had been happening with them for the last five years, too. Despite the fact that Walter never truly reconciled with Agent Gallo, someone higher up in Homeland recognised Scorpion’s potential and assigned them a new liaison, Agent James. It had been a little rough without Paige, but they had managed to stumble through it. They had been working cases, some small, others terrifying and exciting, which made Ralph long for the days where he got to watch the team in action every day.

Then Agent James came in, and they needed to get to work on some highly classified mission, so Ralph decided to leave, with a promise that they would catch up tonight, when the case was finished.

“Oh, hey Ralph!” Walter called out just as Ralph was stepping out of the building. “Tell you mom she can come too. I would – I mean, it would be nice, for us, to see her again.”

Ralph smiled and nodded, then shut the door behind him.

 

***

  
They sat around the table at Kovelsky’s, coffee cups warming their hands, waiting for Paige and Ralph to show.

“Are you going to be okay, Walter?” Toby asked, trying to hide the serious tone in his voice.

“Of course I will be. Why wouldn’t I be?” Walter replied quickly.

“I mean, she kind of broke your heart then left, and you haven’t seen her since.”

“She did not ‘break my heart’,” Walter insisted, to which Toby responded to by rolling his eyes. “And even if there was any emotional connection, which there wasn’t – ”

“Strongly disagree.”

“It was five years ago.”

“Five years and you’re still in denial.”

“They’re here,” Happy remarked, effectively shutting the both of them up.

Walter stood up quickly, and Happy reached out to catch the cup of coffee he nearly spilled everywhere.

“And you call me Lord Numbnuts,” Toby quipped under his breath.

“Hello, Ralph!” Sylvester said, beaming. “Paige.”

“Hi Sylvester!” Paige replied graciously. “It’s so good to see you all again,” she said, looking around at all of them.

Walter studied her. She had not changed much. Her hair was a bit shorter, but that was all. Every other feature was just as he remembered. She looked at him and he realised he should probably stop staring. “It’s good to see you, too,” he said curtly, offering a hand shake.

Paige took it, somewhat awkwardly, smiling politely.

The two newcomers sat down, and, with some prompting from Ralph, the conversation started flowing more easily. Paige talked about her job, and more about Ralph’s school, and the team relived more and more cases they had solved, and all the lives they had saved. Paige’s day job seemed to pale in comparison, seeming a little insignificant, but, as she reminded herself, she left the team so that Ralph could have a better life in Portland and be with his father.

“You know,” Ralph said when the conversation had turned quiet for a moment, “I’ve been telling some of my friends about you guys and the work you do.” He continued nervously as Sylvester frowned a little, wondering where he was going with this, “They’d really like to meet you guys. I mean, we all admire you a lot, and we’d have so much to learn from you, because really, you guys are doing what we’d all like to be doing, that is – I mean, getting to use your minds together and save people for a living, and it would be amazing if we could just pick your brains a little, and get some insight as to what really goes on with those missions. I mean, I’ve seen some myself, but that was ages ago and I wasn’t even really allowed to see most of it and – ”

Paige squeezed her son’s hand, reassuring him kindly. Ralph took a breath, then looked at Walter. “We were wondering if you guys could take us under your wing a little, so to speak.”

There was a beat of silence before Sylvester asked, “Like an apprenticeship?”

Ralph looked around anxiously. “Kind of, I guess.”

Toby smiled. “Well, I mean, we do need a new generation to carry on Scorpion’s legacy.”

Happy blanched. “We’re not that old!”

“Not yet, but we will be eventually.” He slung an arm around her shoulder, and she glared a little but said nothing of it. “Who better to keep our flame alight than our Ralphy-boy?” he said, eyes widening dramatically.

“It might be good to add some new minds into the mix,” Sylvester added.

Paige beamed proudly, and everyone looked at Walter.

“I’d like to meet these friends of yours.”

Ralph’s eyes shone excitedly.

**Author's Note:**

> anyone who knows me knows i always procrastinate so i literally finished this the day it was due so if there are mistakes or it's a bit crappy i am sorry. hope you liked it though!


End file.
